Since Wilt would be 81 today, this is a good time to make my last post about books to read. These are all about Wilt.

First, the best book that I’ve read about Wilt is Wilt, Larger Than Life by Robert Cherry, 2004. It gives a very good overview of his whole life, childhood, Teen, KU, NBA and after.

Here are five others in no particular order:Wilt, 1962 – The Night of 100 Points and the Dawn of a New Era by Gary M. Pomerantz, 2005.Season of the 76ers, The Story of Wilt Chamberlain and the 1967 NBA Champion Philadelphia 76ers by Wayne Lynch, 1967.The RIVALRY– Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, and the Golden Age of Basketball by John Taylor, 2005.A View From Above by Wilt Chamberlain, 1991.Wilt, Just Like Any Other 7-Foot Black Millionaire Who Lives Next Door by Wilt Chamberlain and David Shaw,1973.

Anyone who doesn’t think that Wilt Chamberlain wasn’t the greatest basketball player ever needs to read some of these books, especially the first one listed. If reading isn’t your forte, then get on the internet and watch a bunch of the Utube videos about him, both of him playing and what others have to say about him. The Big Dipper was both extremely strong and athletic as well as a great ball handler. At his prime, he would still be considered the best playing even today or anytime in between. He would have excelled in any sport he chose to play. I would have loved to see the boxing match between him and Ali take place.

Best wishes to you Jayhawk1952 and thanks for all your contributions to this forum.

The following is an excerpt from "Beyond the Phog - Untold Stories from Kansas Basketball's Most Dominant Decade." Compiled by Jason King of Bleacher Report and Kansas City Star sportswriter Jesse Newell, the 400-page book includes interviews with 40 players and coaches from the most successful era in Jayhawks history.

In Keith Langford's words ...RESPECT FOR ROY

Most people don’t know this, but we had a lot of recruits take visits here, guys that are in the NBA right now, that Roy turned down. He would talk to us after their visit and ask us if we thought the guy would be a good fit. That was Roy's thing: It wasn’t always about getting the highest-rated recruits. It was about getting guys who were the best fit for what was going on.

Kris Humphries came on a visit and tried to commit. He really wanted to come here. But no one on the team liked Kris Humphries. He was arrogant. He told everyone he was going to come in and be the leading scorer as a freshman and that we’d all have to take a backseat to him. We were trying to be respectful and not say anything. But he was an absolute jerk. It was tough, because Roy was really excited about him. Kris Humphries was a big deal. He was a one-and-done or a two-and-done kind of player. Roy wanted him to commit on his visit. But we told him, "Coach, you can't bring this guy in. You can't do it." You'd figure Roy would say something like, “Let’s work on him,” or “Let’s give him another chance.” Instead he told Humphries, “Sorry, but you can’t come.” Bill Self did the same thing years later with Terrence Williams.

For all the respect we showed Roy, he always made it a point to show respect back. He treated everyone in his program really well. The coaches would never eat before the players. And when it came to getting in line for food, the seniors would always go first — then junior, sophomores, freshmen, managers and then coaches at the very end. They treated everyone from top to bottom the absolute same. Drew would get the same amount of attention that Chris Zerbe would get. It was incredible. His morals and his ethics and the way he conducted himself ... we would never catch him being a hypocrite. That was big with us.

Another thing was that, with us, you never had to worry about any sort of NCAA violations or rule-breaking. Roy always emphasized that he was going to do everything he could to help get us money. He was going to squeeze every dollar he could out of our scholarship checks. He was going to help us get our Pell grants and find camps for us to work at during the summer. He'd always say, “Don’t do anything to break NCAA rules, because we’re going to make sure you have a way to make money.” He was great about that. The fact that we stayed out of trouble also goes back to the character of guys he brought in. Like I said, it wasn't always the top 10 guys. It was the guys who were the best fit.

Edited by jahawker2004 (08/22/1705:25 AM)

_________________________"Those Places (UNC, UCLA) Are Great, But There's No Place Like Kansas"---Larry Brown to Bill Self.

Best wishes to you Jayhawk1952 and thanks for all your contributions to this forum.

The following is an excerpt from "Beyond the Phog - Untold Stories from Kansas Basketball's Most Dominant Decade." Compiled by Jason King of Bleacher Report and Kansas City Star sportswriter Jesse Newell, the 400-page book includes interviews with 40 players and coaches from the most successful era in Jayhawks history.

In Keith Langford's words ...RESPECT FOR ROY

Most people don’t know this, but we had a lot of recruits take visits here, guys that are in the NBA right now, that Roy turned down. He would talk to us after their visit and ask us if we thought the guy would be a good fit. That was Roy's thing: It wasn’t always about getting the highest-rated recruits. It was about getting guys who were the best fit for what was going on.

Kris Humphries came on a visit and tried to commit. He really wanted to come here. But no one on the team liked Kris Humphries. He was arrogant. He told everyone he was going to come in and be the leading scorer as a freshman and that we’d all have to take a backseat to him. We were trying to be respectful and not say anything. But he was an absolute jerk. It was tough, because Roy was really excited about him. Kris Humphries was a big deal. He was a one-and-done or a two-and-done kind of player. Roy wanted him to commit on his visit. But we told him, "Coach, you can't bring this guy in. You can't do it." You'd figure Roy would say something like, “Let’s work on him,” or “Let’s give him another chance.” Instead he told Humphries, “Sorry, but you can’t come.” Bill Self did the same thing years later with Terrence Williams.

For all the respect we showed Roy, he always made it a point to show respect back. He treated everyone in his program really well. The coaches would never eat before the players. And when it came to getting in line for food, the seniors would always go first — then junior, sophomores, freshmen, managers and then coaches at the very end. They treated everyone from top to bottom the absolute same. Drew would get the same amount of attention that Chris Zerbe would get. It was incredible. His morals and his ethics and the way he conducted himself ... we would never catch him being a hypocrite. That was big with us.

Another thing was that, with us, you never had to worry about any sort of NCAA violations or rule-breaking. Roy always emphasized that he was going to do everything he could to help get us money. He was going to squeeze every dollar he could out of our scholarship checks. He was going to help us get our Pell grants and find camps for us to work at during the summer. He'd always say, “Don’t do anything to break NCAA rules, because we’re going to make sure you have a way to make money.” He was great about that. The fact that we stayed out of trouble also goes back to the character of guys he brought in. Like I said, it wasn't always the top 10 guys. It was the guys who were the best fit.

Good story to read. However, at NC Williams has had to contend with bogus classes / grades scandal for years recently. Still good Kansas stories to hear about 2004.

_________________________
Kansas football will rise again (Coach Don Fambrough style, that is)!

I just had a reality check. I really like Bill Self as our coach. I’ve anticipated him retiring from KU, though I know that may not happen. I can’t imagine him going to another school, but the NBA might entice, though I’m not sure why. It certainly shouldn’t be money, he’s already pretty well set financially. But I’ve never thought of not being around for his retirement. That’s where my reality check hit me. In 10 years I’ll be 87 and Self 64; 12 years 89 and 66; 14 years 91 and 68; 16 years 93 and 70. It’s quite possible I won’t be around at any of those ages!

I did a little pencil pushing to see where Self would stand at each of those stages with a 28 yearly win average and a 30 year win average, he’s already at 623. Here are the results:

It looks like he should be able to exceed 900 wins and if he sticks around exceed 1,000 and a possibility of exceeding 1,100. My dad died at 94 and his sister at 98, maybe I’ll make it, only time will tell.

I am worried that Farmer 52 might have been plowed over in the south 40...hope not

Never fear,Yes, I am here,I'm alive, fit and well.Our team is ready to gel,And believing with great reason,We'll have a great basketball season.Thanks very much for your great concern,But to buried by plow or shovel, it's not my turn.To all brave-hearts who read each line,All the way through this rhyme,Its quality me thinks,Really stinks.